Machine for spin flanging of containers



Sept. 30, 1969 A. A. ASCHBERGER Filed Dec. 1, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I0 I /68 /v 22 44 42 3? 47 52 62 63 69 2 o .9: 2 l 115 l4 W INVENTOR I 0 I g I ANTON AASCHBERGER 263033344050 era 24 v I 3 48 BY UM ATTORNEY Sgpt. so, 1969 A. A. ASCHBERGER MACHINE FOR SPIN FLANGING 0F CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 1, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lLU INVENTOR ANTON A. ASCHBERGER ATTORNEY Sept. 30, 1969 A. A. ASCHBERGER 3,469,423

7 MACEINE FOR SPIN FLANGING OF CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 1, 19 66 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

INVENTOR ANTON A ASCHBERGER BY wan 49mm ATTORNEY.

FIGZB United States Patent MACHINE FOR SPm FLANGING OF CONTAINERS Anton A. Aschberger, Oak Lawn, Ill., assignor to Confinental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 598,449 ,7 Int. Cl. B2111 3/06 US. Cl. 7294 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for flanging the open ends of containers. Spaced apart turrets are rotatably driven and each turret is provided with recesses for retaining the container bodies. The can bodies are held in the recesses by vacuum valve discs.

This invention relates to spin flanging machines and, more particularly, to the spin flanging machines adapted to spin flange the open ends of container bodies, such as the bodies of cylindrical cans.

In order to form a container, such as a cylindrical or tubular can, the open ends of the container body must be flanged for the placement of the top and the bottom closures thereon and for securing the same to the container body. The conventional flanging methods used heretofore produce inadequate flanges since cracking of the flanges and of the container bodies occurs in a great many instances. The cracking is especially common when the containers are manufactured from certain metals.

There is an advantage in spin flanging of the container bodies in that the cracking associated with conventional flanging is practically eliminated. Heretofore, however, spin flanging of container bodies has not been adapted to mass production requirements of the container manufacturing industry due to the difiiculties encountered in positioning and aligning the container bodies in a flanging machine with respect to the flanges so that the bodies could be properly flanged at both of their open ends at the same time. Therefore, spin flanging had been limited to individual operations utilizing a single spin flanging tool and feeding and removing the container bodies by hand rather than by some acceptable means to be used in manufacturing.

Therefore, there exists a need for a high-speed production machine to spin flange the open ends of the container bodies at a commercially acceptable rate.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved spin flanging machine for spin flanging the open ends of container bodies at high production speeds.

Another object of this invention is to provide a spin flanging machine having means for properly positioning the container bodies within the machine and for accurately flanging the open ends thereof.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a machine for simultaneously spin flanging both open ends of a container body.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a machine for spin flanging the open ends of container bodies wherein the machine is provided with means for preventing the rotary movement of the container bodies while the same are being flanged by the flanging apparatus.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Patented Sept. 30, 1969 ICC FIG. 1 is a plan view of the spin flanging machine embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2A is the left half of a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken generally along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is the right half of a sectional view on 'an enlarged scale taken generally along the line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2B.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Generally, the spin flanging machine of the present invention comprises a pair of spaced-apart rotary turrets positioned in a parallel alignment with one another. These turrets are provided with a plurality of recesses for receiving and holding therein container bodies, such as tubular cans. The recesses of at least one turret are provided with the container holding means, such as vacuum cups connected to a proper source of vacuum.

A rotary housing, containing rotary flanging members slidably secured therein and having conical flanging heads, or rollers, is positioned along one side of each of the rotary turrets which are holding the containers to be flanged. When a container body is deposited from an input chute into the recesses of the rotary turrets, slidable rotary flanging members engage the open ends of the container body for flanging the same. The conical flanging heads of the flanging members contact the open ends of the can body and flange the rim as the container turrets and the housings containing flanging members rotate in a predetermined fashion. The sliding movement of the flanging members, which provides for the engagement and the disengagement of the flanging heads with the open ends of the container, is controlled by a cam action. During the operating cycle of the machine, when the container is held in the turrets, vacuum is supplied to a vacuum cup positioned in one of the turrets to prevent rotary motion of the container when it is held in the turret. After the containers are flanged, the cam action causes the withdrawal of the flanging heads .from engagement with the container and, upon interruption of the vacuum supply to the vacuum cup, the container is released into a discharge chute for further operations not related to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, more specifically to FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B, there is shown a spin flanging machine generally designated 10. The machine is provided with a base 11, having a number of vertical supports 12 attached thereto for maintaining various components of the machine 10 in their proper locations. A main shaft 14 extends from a main drive unit 15, shown at the right side of FIG.l, to an auxiliary drive sprocket 16, shown at the left side of FIG. 1.

Paralleling the main shaft 14, there is an auxiliary drive shaft 18 having a sprocket 19 at its left end and a sprocket 20 at its right end. A drive chain 22 interconnects the sprocket 19 on the auxiliary drive shaft 18 with the sprocket 16 on the main shaft 14. Immediately adjacent the main drive 15, and to the left thereof (as viewed in FIG. 1), there is located a sprocket 23 secured to a gear 24. A drive chain 25 connects the sprocket 23 with the sprocket 20 mounted on the auxiliary shaft 18. The main shaft 14 is supported by a stationary shaft support 26 to which there is attached, by screws or the like, a cam support 27. The shaft 14 rotates freely through its support 26 and through the cam support 27.

A gear 29, mounted on the auxiliary shaft 18, is in a meshing engagement with the gear 30. The gear 30 is attached to a gear 31, by bolts or the like, so that when rotation is imparted to the gear 30, the gear 31 will also rotate.

Connected, by conventional means, to the cam support 27 there is a stationary cam 33 about which the gears 30 and 31 rotate. The cam 33 has a web 34 formed on its surface for the purpose to be explained later.

Immediately to the right and adjoining the cam 33 there is positioned a rotary housing 36 wherein a plurality of fianging members 37 are slidably secured. The housing 36 is secured to the main shaft 14 by conventional means, so that the housing 36 rotates when the shaft 14 is placed in rotary motion.

Since all fianging members 37 are constructed with identical components, a detailed reference will be made herein to the construction of only one fianging member 37.

As best seen in FIG. 2A, the fianging member 37 has a main body 38 and an elongated slide element 39. A fianging ring 40 is secured to one end of the slide element 39. A plurality of conical fianging rollers, or heads, 41 are mounted on the face of the main body 38. The main body 38 is secured to an elongated spindle 42 which runs the length of the fianging member 37 within the housing 36 and extends therefrom. The spindle 42 is rotatably mounted in the slide element 39 and supported by conventional bearings 43. The portion of the spindle 42 extending from the housing 36 terminates in a spindle pinion 44 which engages the gear 31, heretofore described. Thus, the spindle pinion 44 is driven 'by the gear 31.

Secured to the slide element 39 and extending from the housing 36, there are cam followers 45 which, during the operation of the machine 10, engage the web 34 formed on the surface of the cam 33 and provide a horirontal sliding movement to the fianging member 37 within the housing 36.

In the central portion of the machine 10, as viewed n FIG. 1, there is provided turret means comprising a panof container holding turrets, 47 and 48 respectively, which are adapted to hold containers in recesses, or pockets, 50 formed on both of said turrents. Situated between the container holding turrets 47 and 48 there is a valve support plate 52 and a vacuum valve disc 53 which are separated from one another by a plurality of springs 55 mounted therebetween.

The vacuum valve disc 53 is in communication with the container holding turret 48 for the purpose to be explained in detail later. Positioned on the main shaft 14 there is a rotary housing 57 containing a plurality of identical rotary fianging members 59 which are of the same construction as the fianging members 37 heretofore described. Therefore, only a limited description of a fianging member 59 will be given herein.

The fianging member 59 is formed with a stationary fianging ring 60 at its end closest to the container holding turret 48. A plurality of conical fianging rollers, or heads, 61 are mounted on a face 62 of a main body (not shown) of the fianging member 59, said main body being identical to the main body 38 of the fianging member 37. The fianging rollers 61 face the container holding turret 48. An elongated spindle 63 extends from the housing 57 and terminates in a rotary spindle pinion 65. The member 59 has cam followers 66 secured to the extension 67 of the slide element (not shown), said slide element being identical to the slide element 39 heretofore described.

Immediately to the right of the housing 57 there is located a stationary cam 68 having a web 69 formed on its surface. The cam 68 is held stationary by its connection, such as with screws or the like, to a stationary cam support 71 attached to the main drive 15 by conventional means. During the operation of the machine 10, as later described, the cam followers 66 of the fianging member 59 engage the web 69 on the surface of the cam 68.

The spindle pinion 65 of the spindle 63 engages the gear 24 which is connected to the sprocket 23 to rotate therewith. The sprocket 23 is driven by sprocket 20 with the aid of the drive chain 25.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown the vacuum valve disc 53 held in a stationary position by a bracket 73. The main shaft 14 is freely rotatable through the disc 53. The disc 53 is formed with an interior arc-shaped vacuum timing groove 75 which, during the rotation of adjoining container holding turret 48, determines the interval during which vacuum is to be supplied to the turret 48. Each of the recesses 50, formed on the turret 48 for holding containers 77 therein, is provided with a vacuum cup 80 being held in the recess 50 by a screw 81. The screw 81, having an interior passage, is in communication with the groove 75 of the disc 53 for supplying vacuum to the cup 80 through said interior passage. Thus, when the container 77 is deposited in the recess 50 of the holding turret 48, vacuum is supplied from a source through the vacuum valve disc 53 to the vacuum cup 80 by way of the screw 81 so that the cup 80 holds the container 77 securely within the recess 50.

The container 77 can be held against rotation in the recess 50 by a number of different means. For example magnets, friction blocks, or mechanical clamps are quite suitable for the purpose of preventing rotation of the container 77 within the recess. The use of the vacuum cups 80, however, presents a definite advantage over other available holding means. The use of vacuum cups simplifies the design of the machine 10 in that it does not require any additional moving parts to provide actuation. The response of the vacuum cup is fast and assures quick gripping and releasing of the container when desired. The provision of the vacuum cups in the recesses 50 permits the holding of the containers 77 against rotation while still allowing sufiicient axial movement thereof. Due to the tolerance variations and accumulations, it is difficult to provide a perfect alignment of two opposing fianging members 37 and 59. It is also difficult to feed the container 77 perfectly centered in relation to said fianging members. The use of the vacuum cup 80 eliminates these difficulties, because the container 77, once it is placed and retained within the recess 50, is free to find its own position of least strain.

To hold the container 77 within the recess 50 of the turret 48, the interior passage of the screw 81 is in engagement with the arc-shaped vacuum timing groove 75 of the stationary valve disc 53 and remains in contact with the groove 75 for the length of time that it is desired to hold the container 77 against rotation within the recess 50. The length of the groove 75 corresponds to the length of time that it is desired to retain the container 77 free from rotation in the recess 50. Thus, when the screw 81 of the cup 80 aligns with the groove 75 in the valve disc 53 during the working part of the machine cycle, the container 77 is prevented from rotating within the recess 50. When the holding turret 48 continues to rotate carrying the container 77 therewith, the screw 81 engages a bleeder opening 83 in the disc 53 through which opening the air is supplied to the cup 80 whereupon the cup releases its container holding force so that the container can be discharged from the recesses 50 of the holding turrets 47 and 48.

The container 77 is deposited into the machine 10 by being rolled down an angular input chute 85. A container guide 86 is positioned at the input chute to guide the containers in the chute 85. A guide side plate 87 aids in the positioning of the containers as they are travelling downwardly in the angular input chute 85. After the flanging of the containers is accomplished by the flanging rollers 41 and 61 of the opposing flanging members 37 and 59 respectively, the containers are discharged through a downwardly inclined discharge chute 90.

In the operation of the machine, the containers 77 are fed into the input chute 85 of the machine by means forming no part of this invention. When the main drive is actuated, the main shaft 14 and the auxiliary shaft 18 are placed in a rotary motion. The rotation of the main shaft 14 also produces rotation of the container holding turrets 47 and 48 as well as the rotation of the housings 36 and 57 containing the flanging members 37 and 59 respectively. Due to the arrangement of the drive train of this machine, and viewed from the center of the machine 10, as represented by the springs 55, the holding turret 47 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction while the turret 48 rotates in a clockwise direction. The spindles 42 of the flanging members 37 rotate in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the spindles 63 of the flanging members 59.

The recesses 50 of the turrets 47 and 48 are in alignment with one another and receive the container 77 from the input chute 85. When the container 77 is deposited in the recesses 50, the screw 81 of the vacuum cup 80 engages the timing groove 75 of the vacuum valve disc 53 to supply vacuum to the cup 80 and thereby prevent rotation of the container 77 within the recess 50'.

As the housings 36 and 57 are rotated, the follower 45 of the flanging member 37 engages the web 34 on the surface of the cam 33, while the follower 66 of the hanger 59 engages the web 69 on the surface of the cam 68. The engagement of the followers with the respective webs causes the sliding of the flanging members 37 and 59 within their respective housings 36 and 57 toward the container 77 held in the recesses 50 of the turrets 47 and 48 so that the conical flanging rollers 41 and 61 engage the open ends of the container 77.

The rotary action of the gear 31 produces rotation of the pinion 44 which is in a meshing engagement with the gear 31. The'rotation of the pinion 44 causes rotation of the spindle 42 which, in turn, produces rotation of the flanging rollers 41 which are in engagement with an open end of the container 77. The rotation of the flanging rollers 41 in contacting relationship with the open end of the container 77 produces a flange about said open end.

In the same manner, the rotary motion of the gear 24, in a meshing engagement with the pinion 65, causes rotation of the pinion 65. This factor produces rotation of the spindle 63 attached to the pinion 65 and, in turn, places the flanging rollers 61 into rotation. Since the rollers 61 are in contact with the other open end of the container 77, their rotation causes a formation of a flange about the open end.

It is seen from the above description, that both open ends of the container 77 have been flanged by the action of rollers 41 and 61, respectively, thereon.

While during the flanging operation the followers 45 and 66 engage their respective webs 34 and 69, the configuration of the webs is such that, at the end of the flanging operation, the contact of the followers 45 and 66 with their respective webs 34 and 69 will cause the flanging rollers 41 and 61 to withdraw from engagement with the flanged open ends of the container 77.

As the flanging rollers disengage the container ends, the screw 81 of the vacuum cup 80 will be at the end of the timing groove 75 of the vacuum valve disc 53 and will subsequently engage the bleeder opening 83 through which air is supplied to the vacuum cup 80 causing a release of the container 77 held within the recess 50 of the holding turret 48. The released container 77 is deposited into the discharge chute 90 for further operations forming no part of this invention.

The operation of the machine 10 as heretofore described, relates to the operation of a single pair of flanging members. The identical operations are performed by all other pairs of flanging members on different containers to provide for a continuous flanging operation.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for spin flanging open ends of container bodies comprising, a drive, a main shaft and an auxiliary shaft, said shafts being operatively connected to said drive, a pair of parallel spaced-apart turrets mounted on said main shaft for rotation therewith, said turrets each having a plurality of recesses for retaining container bodies therein, said recesses on at least one of said turrets being provided with vacuum holding means for releasably retaining said container bodies and preventing circumferential movement thereof, a housing rotatable secured to said main shaft in adjoining relationship to each of said turrets, a plurality of rotary flanging members slidably secured in said housing, and means for selectively aligning and engaging said flanging members with the container bodies held by said turrets.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein a stationary vacuum valve disc having an arc-shaped groove on its surface is positioned adjacent said turret having said vacuum holding means, and said disc is connected to the source of the vacuum.

3. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said vacuum holding means comprises a cup positioned within each of said recesses and having a screw at its bottom, said screw having an interior passage for supplying vacuum to said cup.

4. A machine as defined in claim 2, wherein said arcshaped groove is intermittently engaged by said vacuum holding means for supplying vacuum thereto.

5. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said flanging members is provided with a plurality of substantially conical flanging heads.

6. A machine as defined in claim 5, wherein said flanging heads engage the open ends of said container bodies for flanging said ends.

7. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for selectively aligning and engaging said flanging members with the open ends of the container bodies comprises a stationary cam positioned about said shaft, followers secured to one end of each of said flanging members and engaging said cam for movement thereon thereby horizontally moving said members in response to the movement of said followers on said earn.

8. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein gear means is rotatably mounted on said main and auxiliary shafts adjacent said housings, each of said flanging members being formed with an elongated spindle terminating in a pinion, and said pinion meshingly engaging said gear means to provide rotary motion to said flanging heads.

9. A machine for spin flanging open ends of container bodies comprising, a drive, a first shaft, a second shaft, a pair of parallel spaced-apart turrets mounted on said first shaft for rotation therewith, said turrets having a plurality of recesses formed thereon for receiving container bodies therein, vacuum cups mounted in said recesses of at least one of said turrets, a vacuum valve disc positioned in an adjoining relationship to said turret having said vacuum cups mounted in said recesses, said vacuum cups being operatively connected to said disc, a housing rotatably mounted on said first shaft in a parallel adjoining relationship to each of said turrets, said housing containing a plurality of flanging members slida'bly secured therein, each of said flanging members having a plurality of flanging heads at one end and adapted to flange the opposite open ends of said container bodies, a stationary cam positioned about said first shaft, and followers secured to the other end of each of said flanging members and engaging said cam to impart horizontal movement to said members for engaging said flanging heads with the open ends of said containers.

(References on following page) 7 8 References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 456,449 4/ 1936 Great Britain.

996,122 /1911 O b rn 7294 RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner 2,741,292 4/ 1956 Butters 7294 5 3,260,089 7/1966 Hazelton 72 3s4 3,266,451 8/1966 Kraus 72-126 72-126; 113120 

